


Sharp Thorns Beget Delicate Roses

by faexsolis



Category: BLACKPINK (Band), EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, BTS references, Denial of Feelings, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hanahaki Disease, Internalized Homophobia (but it's not explicit), Park Chaeyoung is Bad at Feelings, Pokemon References, Slow Burn, TWICE References, Tags will change as story develops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:22:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25059931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faexsolis/pseuds/faexsolis
Summary: It only takes Park Chaeyoung about a decade and a half to realize that she and her best friend - whom she isdefinitelynot head over heels for - are indeed endgame.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Jennie Kim/Park Chaeyoung | Rosé
Comments: 10
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhh I'm finally posting my first chaptered fic!!!
> 
> As always, this fic is dedicated to my fav beta reader and fellow Chaennie enthusiast KM <3
> 
> Also I've been forgetting to put in my disclaimer for my last couple fics but PLEASE remember that this is a work of FICTION - this story does not at all reflect these idols irl, and this has been written for entertainment purposes ONLY (also, remember this is a hanahaki au - expect some angst, but I promise I won't be too heavy-handed with it)
> 
> Anyways with all that out of the way let's go~

Park Chaeyoung is a mere twelve years old when the love of her life comes hurtling into her life. 

(Said love of her life is the new girl in her class, a poor schmuck who’s had the misfortune of moving schools smack-dab in the middle of the school year. To her credit, however, she _is_ gorgeous - from clear porcelain skin and dainty features to a waterfall of shiny chestnut hair cascading down her shoulders, the girl screams _future model_ \- and Chaeyoung is sure that had this girl not moved at such an inconvenient time, she would have climbed the ranks of their superficial social hierarchy with practiced ease.)

As Chaeyoung observes the girl’s petite form struggling to support the weight of her oversized backpack as she flashes the class a nervous smile, she shakes her head in pity - the poor girl is a lamb headed to the slaughterhouse.

(It’s a well-known fact that their student body is highly structured, and those lurking in the lower tiers are perpetually waiting to prey on the weak - if the new girl shows even a moment’s hesitation, she will be quite literally be eaten alive.)

Chaeyoung is snapped out of her reverie as the teacher presents the girl as Kim Jennie, a long-term exchange student from New Zealand, and prompts her to introduce herself. Chaeyoung leans forward on her elbows subconsciously, her heart going out to the girl. She’s going to have _so_ much to learn - maybe Chaeyoung will even extend her hand and invite the new girl to her lunch table.

But the moment Kim Jennie opens her mouth to introduce herself, Chaeyoung’s jaw drops, every one of her preconceived notions about the girl dissipating on the spot.

Jennie exudes effortless charm and confidence as she speaks, her dazzling smile playful and vivacious. Her introduction is succinct but memorable, her Korean accent impeccable, as every gaze in the room is trained upon her, utterly captivated.

Chaeyoung is blown away, to say the least.

From her peripheral vision, Chaeyoung can see queen bee extraordinaire Bae Joohyun texting under her desk - no doubt informing the vast network of students within her regime of Jennie’s existence. Her heart sinks as the girl closes her phone and observes Jennie with a steel glint in her eye, offering her a subtle nod of approval.

Chaeyoung guesses she can forget about forming any sort of friendship with the new girl now.

But Jennie - who seems to be dangerously confident in herself - turns a blind eye to Joohyun, instead making her way to the back of the room, and Chaeyoung can’t help but _stare_ as this goddess of a girl dips her head in acknowledgement and purposefully chooses to take a seat next to her. 

(Chaeyoung is in awe of the new girl’s gall. Or perhaps it’s just blissful ignorance. Either way, both of them are _screwed_ with a capital _S_ \- one does not simply disregard _the_ Bae Joohyun and expect to make it through the austere halls of their middle school without being drowned in a sea of scathing whispers.)

To Chaeyoung’s overwhelming relief, however, the rest of the class passes by quite uneventfully, save for some awkward introductory discourse with Jennie. As their teacher dismisses class, Chaeyoung hugs her books close to her chest and heads for the cafeteria. 

She’s sure the (very untrue) rumors circulating about her are bound to reach Jennie’s ears soon enough, and that will be enough for her to permanently migrate (or _dashi run run_ , in the words of her favorite boy band) over to Joohyun’s side - after all, it’s still not too late. Jennie _is_ the new kid, after all - if she grovels enough, Joohyun just might allow the girl into her rank of mindless lackeys.

But being her exuberant - and unfortunately oblivious - self, Jennie immediately finds her way to Chaeyoung’s table at lunch, to Chaeyoung’s very bashful astonishment. As they converse, the two quickly discover their shared love for Jigglypuff - okay, but who _doesn’t_ love Jigglypuff? It’s fucking adorable - as well as the national phenomenon that is the Jibooty, and Chaeyoung finds herself actually opening up to this gorgeous stranger.

The proverbial icing on the cake presents itself as Jennie - who is hell-bent on antagonizing herself for some convoluted reason that Chaeyoung will never understand, but will forever appreciate - defends her against Joohyun and her posse of ditzy wannabes. They proceed with their usual thievery of her lunch money - _God,_ can her life get any more cringey 2000s chick flick? - and as Chaeyoung attempts to fork it over peacefully (please, she doesn’t need another Cupcake Incident, thank you very much), Jennie steps forward with a telltale gleam in her eye.

“Excuse me, but I’m pretty sure that the road to Basic Bitchville is that way.” Jennie jerks a thumb to her right, smirking, and the resulting dumbfounded expression that flashes across Joohyun’s face brings Chaeyoung an indescribable rush of joy.

“Pardon?” Joohyun flips her smooth hair in a single fluid motion, attempting to assert her social dominance. Jennie, however, is not one to be toyed with.

“That was your cue to leave,” Jennie whispers exaggeratedly, and Joohyun positively _glowers._

“How _dare_ you? Do you even _know_ who I am?”

Jennie turns to Chaeyoung, the beginnings of a mischievous smile playing at her lips. "Is that the wind I hear?"

Joohyun huffs disdainfully - point: Jennie - and flips her hair yet again. "Girls, let's go. These plebs aren't worth our time."

Joohyun sashays away, and her subordinates trail after her dutifully like the spineless minions they are.

Once they're far out of earshot, Jennie shakes her head in disappointment. "Man, I hate people like that girl. I mean, what'd _you_ ever do to deserve that kind of treatment?" 

Chaeyoung chews her lip - a nervous habit she's picked up - and averts her eyes. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

Jennie quirks up an inquisitive eyebrow.

“They practically run the school,” Chaeyoung elaborates, her eyes obstinately fixated on her tray. “You still have time though, you can probably apologize and still gain _some_ semblance of a social status. But it won’t be easy.”

Jennie’s lips part slightly, the cogs in her head whirring, as she analyzes the situation, and coming to a moral conclusion of some kind, she shakes her head, her mouth setting in firm line of resolve.

“I’d rather befriend someone deserving and be a social pariah than condemn myself to a life of being one of her brainless lackeys.”

Chaeyoung looks up sharply, aghast. 

“You heard me. Did I stutter?”

Chaeyoung gapes. “But- I- are you _sure?”_

Jennie smiles reassuringly, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Believe me, I’m sure. And besides, I don’t really peg her as the Jimin-stanning type - I’m not about to lose a fellow ARMY to join the cult of some self-righteous diva with an ego the size of Pangaea.”

Ignoring the flutter in her chest, Chaeyoung manages a relieved smile, and Jennie plops back down in her seat, plucking a sweet potato fry off her tray and handing it her as a sort of peace offering.

"So, what was your analysis of the smeraldo flower's cinematic and literary significance, again?"

Chaeyoung's grin widens as she accepts the fry, her inner nerd - and fangirl - emerging, and proceeds to give Jennie a detailed explanation of the symbolism of the flower. 

(None of which Jennie actually understands, but that's easily overlooked.)

Three periods and several surreptitious glances later, Jennie is Chaeyoung’s new best friend.

⭒🌹⭒

Chaeyoung loathes change with a burning passion. Seriously, change can go choke on some raw onions and _cry._

Or, at least, that's what fourteen-year-old Park Chaeyoung likes to tell herself.

Her first day of high school is coming along just _fabulously_ \- she has absolutely no classes with her best friend, but miraculously happens to have _all_ of her classes with her archnemesis. 

Chaeyoung supposes that she must steel herself for a year of relentless bullying.

But she isn’t a pessimist - not yet, at least - and firmly believes in the positive: she still has lunch with Jennie, and if she remains mute and discreet enough, Joohyun is bound to ignore her _eventually._

Right?

(When Joohyun ruthlessly massacres her favorite fineliner pack - in front of her own eyes, no less - Chaeyoung is admittedly less sure of herself.)

But Chaeyoung isn’t a quitter. She makes it a habit to step into first period Gen Chem with a bright smile on her face and leave seventh period Women’s Choir with a bounce in her step every day, her motivation stemming from both her slight obsession with her favorite boy band and her not-so-slight obsession with Jennie’s curved eyes and gummy smile.

And ignoring the Micron Ordeal, things go well - at least, until the night of Homecoming.

The night starts off surprisingly well, given her usual luck - Chaeyoung grabs dinner with Jennie and some of her friends before the actual dance itself, and arrives precisely half an hour late, as WikiHow instructs. The line, of course, is out the door - but that’s to be expected, it’s _Homecoming_ \- and to Chaeyoung’s overwhelming relief, they’re let in without a fuss.

Not even the speakers blaring the generic, bass-boosted EDM or the throng of sweaty adolescent bodies - say it with her, goddammit: _every day is a deodorant day_ \- crowding the too-small gym present any major issues for Chaeyoung, despite her general distaste for the setting.

Really, it’s only when she excuses herself to the bathroom that shit hits the metaphorical fan.

Chaeyoung pushes open the cheaply-decorated bathroom door to find none other than her archnemesis, the one and only Bae Joohyun, with her tongue shoved down some boy’s throat, her delicate hands scrabbling for purchase on his lanky body. She looks positively _debauched_ \- or, at least, as _debauched_ as an inexperienced freshman can get. Chaeyoung can’t quite tell who the boy is, but judging by his height alone, she can safely assume that it’s Park Chanyeol, one of Jennie’s mutual friends.

Chaeyoung knows it’s not her place to stare - hell, she doesn’t _want_ to see them - but it’s horrifyingly transfixing, and Chaeyoung finds herself frozen in (not so) mild appalment.

And then Joohyun _sees_ her.

Their gazes lock for a few humiliating moments, Joohyun’s eyes widening in surprise, and Chaeyoung’s in terror, before the spell is broken. Chaeyoung turns around and stumbles out of the bathroom, her heart racing, and wants nothing more than to give her scarred eyes a thorough bleaching.

(Relieve herself, too, but that’s not presently her first priority.)

Chaeyoung invents an excuse to justify her departure to her friends - not having a tampon is _serious,_ okay - and walks all the way home, running up to her room to hide from the world. Her heart is just beating _so fast,_ and she can’t get Joohyun’s shocked face out of her head.

It’s awful.

As a girl who has never seen anything more than a PG-rated movie peck - thanks a bunch, overprotective parents - Chaeyoung feels like she has sinned, somehow.

But Joohyun’s wanton expression feels imprinted in her brain, and naturally, Pure Bean Chaeyoung is forced to do everything she can to distract herself from it.

Several Run BTS! episodes later, Chaeyoung hasn’t completely succeeded, but she’s too tired to do anything else about it.

That night, Chaeyoung dreams of kissing girls and chooses to forget before she wakes up.


	2. Chapter 2

Chaeyoung first discovers the wonders of fanfiction during the summer vacation of her freshman year.

(Conversely, her conscious sexual awakening arrives the very same July, in the form of Twice’s cover of _So Hot_ , and suddenly everything makes sense _._ It’s a truth Chaeyoung doesn’t want to accept at first, but begrudgingly learns to over the next year or so. 

She guesses those rumors from middle school _were_ true, after all.)

From then on, Chaeyoung abandons her relationship with a certain bulletproof boy band to pursue a career as a girl group stan, and the majority of her sophomore year is spent crying over MiChaeng moments and improving her porn-writing skills.

It’s also the year that Chaeyoung grows tired of Joohyun’s relentless mockery.

Chaeyoung’s already having a positively shitty day - she’s overslept, causing her to skip breakfast _and_ miss the bus, and then proceed to step on a freshly-spit wad of fluorescent bubblegum with her brand-new, blindingly white shoes - when Joohyun sidles up to her with her usual smirk on her face.

It’s almost summer. Chaeyoung does not want to deal with Joohyun's Shit™.

So she turns the fuck around and starts walking in the other direction.

Joohyun, of course, is aghast. “Chaeyoung! Come back here!”

Chaeyoung pauses for a heartbeat, deliberating, and on whim, spins on her heel, her eyebrows raised. “What do you want?”

Joohyun places a hand on her hip. “You know.”

“Do I?” Chaeyoung questions.

Joohyun rolls her eyes. “Just hand it over, make it easier for all of us.”

Tilting her head to the side, Chaeyoung clicks her tongue. “You really don’t have anything better to do, do you?”

“W-What?” Joohyun sputters. "I- wh-"

Chaeyoung smirks. “Didn’t think so. I’ll see you around, then?”

And just like that, with a swiftly-formulated expression of contempt, Chaeyoung ends Joohyun’s regime once and for all.

Chaeyoung thinks she can safely say that things are starting to look up.

⭒🌹⭒

Yeah, that’s a lie.

It’s currently Hell Week™ - otherwise known as pre-Homecoming week of her junior year - and Chaeyoung isn’t at all ready for Jennie’s big proclamation.

She’s just minding her own business, reading some kinky MiChaeng filth from 2016, when Jennie calls for her attention.

“Yo, Chaeng,” Jennie taps a pencil in front of Chaeyoung’s phone. Chaeyoung, irritated from being rudely interrupted from her aforementioned kinky MiChaeng filth, shoots Jennie her Death Glare™. Jennie, much to her annoyance, only smiles sweetly in response.

“What do you want?” Chaeyoung grumbles. “You interrupted right as my namesake was thrus-”

“Please don’t tell me,” Jennie begs. “I’d like to retain whatever innocence I have left.”

“Whatever.”

“Anyway,” Jennie emphasizes, “I have something to tell you.”

Chaeyoung raises an eyebrow. “Go on.”

Jennie bites her lip. “Please don’t be mad.”

“Just spit it out, Jendeukie.”

Jennie inhales deeply, composing herself, and announces it without much pomp.

“I have a boyfriend.”

Jennie hides her flushed face in her hands, and all Chaeyoung can do is stare in shock, because-

“What the _fuck_ , Jennie.”

Jennie peeks between her fingers. “Are you mad?”

Yes. Yes, she _absolutely_ is mad, because _how the fuck-_

“No.”

Jennie sighs in relief, slumping back in her chair. “Thank goodness.”

“Okay, but who is it?” Chaeyoung questions, an eyebrow quirking up skeptically.

Jennie blushes to the roots of her hair, averting her gaze from Chaeyoung’s exceedingly unimpressed one. “Jongin.”

 _Jongin?_ As in _Kim Jongin,_ leader of the football meatheads, Certified Fuckboy™, and most of all, the most disgustingly homophobic person in the known universe?

Oh _hell_ no.

“How exciting,” Chaeyoung states, her voice utterly devoid of emotion.

Jennie’s eyebrows furrow. “Are you sure you’re not mad?”

“Jen, I said I wasn’t mad,” Chaeyoung nearly snaps.

Jennie has the decency to look abashed. “Sorry, I just- I-”

Chaeyoung sighs, extending her arms. “C’mere, Jennie.”

Jennie happily obliges, enveloping Chaeyoung in a warm hug that unfortunately smells of artificial rose - it’s that godawful perfume Jongin had gifted Jennie for her birthday - and while she squeezes back just as hard, Chaeyoung can’t help but feel a sickening sense of betrayal.

It’s a feeling that builds inside of her slowly - each negative thought congealing into a brick of irritation, constructing a wall around her heart - and while Chaeyoung can smile politely for now, she doesn’t know how long she’ll be able to hold out. She hasn’t quite mastered the art of concealing her emotions quite yet - and Jennie can read her like a book _anyway,_ they’re not best friends for no reason - but Chaeyoung knows she can’t let her facade slip. More now than ever.

Chaeyoung nearly breaks, however, when Jennie touches on the topic at the end of lunch.

“Do you want me to set you up with one of Jongin’s friends? I think you’d like Chanyeol.”

Chaeyoung doesn’t know how to tell her best friend that one, she still has PTSD from seeing Chanyeol’s tongue down her nemesis’s throat two years ago, and two, she likes _girls_.

“Oh Chaengie, I can already imagine the double dates we could have together,” Jennie sighs contentedly. “So, what do you think?”

Chaeyoung desperately tries not to grimace. “Well…”

“Oh, come on,” Jennie persuades. “Wouldn’t it be so much fun?”

No, it would most certainly _not._

“I guess?”

“So that’s a yes, then?” Jennie squeals excitedly.

“I mean…” Chaeyoung can’t bring herself to say no, not when Jennie is pulling her infamous puppy eyes on her.

“Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to tell Jongin,” Jennie claps her hands in delight. “Chanyeol always liked you, you know? He’d always send fleeting glances your way.”

Chaeyoung cringes internally, but somehow manages to keep her exterior bright for Jennie. “I can’t wait for Homecoming.”

Jennie’s lips spread into her trademark gummy smile. “It’ll be perfect, just you wait.”

The only problem is, Chaeyoung believes her.

⭒🌹⭒

Chaeyoung goes out on a date that weekend with Chanyeol at Jennie’s prompting, and turns out, he’s not half bad. He’s got a good sense of humor, and is incredibly respectful of her space. He’s a bit clumsy, sure, but Chaeyoung supposes that it’s endearing.

“So how long have you known Jennie?” Chanyeol asks Chaeyoung, sipping at his mango Gong Cha.

“It has been many moons, since the dark ages of the seventh grade,” Chaeyoung replies dramatically, garnering a chuckle from Chanyeol.

“You both certainly seem very close,” he says, not unkindly. “It’s really sweet how supportive you are of each other.”

“Same could be said of you and Jongin.” 

Chanyeol smiles. “Very true. I honestly don’t think I’d have survived all the Yoda jokes if not for his standing up for me back in fifth grade.”

“Yoda jokes?” Chaeyoung inquires.

A light blush dusts Chanyeol’s cheeks. “Y’know, ‘cause my ears stick out a little? People used to call me Yoda.”

Chaeyoung leans in conspiratorially. “Between the two of us, I think your ears are your best feature.”

And the blinding smile that Chanyeol gives her in return makes her feel all _warm_ and _fuzzy_ inside. It’s almost _nice_.

“Really?”

“Absolutely,” Chaeyoung reassures, taking a sip from her own bubble tea.

“Thank you,” Chanyeol responds, a lopsided grin flashing across his face, and for a moment, a twinge of guilt resonates through Chaeyoung. She really does enjoy Chanyeol’s companionship, and she’s sure they would have had a great friendship if not for all her pretending.

But for now, Chaeyoung just smiles back at Chanyeol, and says nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite her multiple protests, Jennie drags Chaeyoung out to go Homecoming dress shopping, and after an hour or so of fooling around in the dressing rooms, they finally settle on matching floral-patterned dresses with full tulle skirts. Jennie somehow persuades Chaeyoung - read: Jennie pulls her deadly puppy eyes on the unsuspecting girl, who has no choice but to oblige - to send a picture to Chanyeol, who sends her a picture of a matching boutonniere in return, and nothing can stop the squeals coming from the dressing rooms.

Chaeyoung even thinks that she may have been confused about her sexuality - that’s possible, right? - and finds herself actually looking forward to Homecoming, to her absolute surprise.

Unlike the previous years, Chaeyoung actually has a solid plan, a solid person to fall back on, and, most importantly, a solid 183K MiChaeng fic lined up if she decides she isn’t feeling it.

(But that’s probably not going to happen - Chanyeol is a great conversationalist, and complements her awkwardness wonderfully.)

A sense of deja vu settles over Chaeyoung on the night of Homecoming as Jennie traces her eyes with liquid eyeliner and meticulously twists her hair into a convoluted braid of some kind, pulling out a few tasteful strands of hair when she’s done. They smile into the mirror, Chaeyoung’s mildly unsettled, Jennie’s ecstatic, before grabbing their purses and heading out to greet the boys.

Sitting at the restaurant, with Chanyeol’s arm casually slung across her shoulders, Chaeyoung feels uncomfortable. She doesn’t like the way Jennie and Jongin are eyeing them, all patronizingly endeared and overly saccharine. It makes her sick, the way she's sure that they look ready to write a whole ass fanfiction about them, right here and now.

“Chaeyoung, are you okay?” Chanyeol murmurs in her ear. “I can take my arm off your shoulders if you’d like.”

Chaeyoung stills, suddenly extremely aware of Jennie’s knowing gaze directed at her. “No, it’s alright. I’m just nervous for tonight.”

Chanyeol chuckles. “Completely understandable. I mean, the last time you went was freshman year, right?”

“That’s right.” Chaeyoung flushes in painful reminiscence.

Chanyeol, as if sensing her mortification, smoothly segues their discussion in another direction. “I can’t believe our theme is _Under the Sea_ , though. It’s so cliche.”

“That’s so true, though,” Chaeyoung complains. “Like, Back to the Future, much?”

Chanyeol’s eyes form amused crescents. “Can’t forget about that one, can we?”

“Certainly not,” Chaeyoung huffs overdramatically, and both she and Chanyeol exchange a giggle.

“Sorry to interrupt your, uh, bonding,” Jongin clears his throat. “But are we ready to head to the school?”

Chaeyoung starts, willing the heat creeping up her neck back down. “Oh, um, yeah.”

"Sounds good," Chanyeol tacks on, and Jennie nods in agreement.

Jongin calls the waitress over, and before Chaeyoung knows it, she’s back in the crowded gym, the generic EDM beats pulsing through her very core. She feels dizzy with remembrance, and quite honestly, the only thing keeping her from projectile vomiting her dinner onto the pit is Chanyeol’s reassuring arm around her waist.

“Chaeyoung, I have to use the restroom,” Chanyeol yells over the music. “Will you be okay by yourself?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Chaeyoung responds, waving a hand. “You go ahead.”

“Be right back.” Chanyeol shoots her that stupidly endearing smile of his, and Chaeyoung can’t help but smile back. She sighs gently, endeared by Chanyeol’s actions, and picks up her voluminous skirt, waddling over to a less crowded corner of the gym.

It’s interesting to view everything from here - Chaeyoung can see a nice variety of couples, from gay activists Kim Junmyeon and Huang Zitao to the iconic Kim-Kim couple, Kim Hyuna and her boyfriend, Kim Hyojong. Hell, Chaeyoung can even see Jennie and Jongin slow dancing - yes, slow dancing to the fucking _Skrillex_ \- from where she’s standing, and a coil of disgust snakes its way into her stomach.

It’s not that Chaeyoung isn’t happy for Jennie, okay? She’s fucking thrilled for her best friend.

It’s just that seeing Jongin’s dirty hands roaming Jennie’s body fills Chaeyoung with an inexplicable sense of disgust so great that she physically wants to vomit.

The Skrillex switches to a slower, less EDM-y ballad, and Chaeyoung is sure that it’s her cue to leave. This is the couples’ dance, after all, and Chanyeol is nowhere to be seen.

But as Chaeyoung is about to squeeze her way out, she sees Jongin’s hand close around Jennie’s wrist, a suggestive look marring his features, and Chaeyoung’s heart clenches in fear. What is Jennie doing?

But Jennie seems perfectly okay with it. She giggles airily, allowing Jongin to pull her along, and Chaeyoung briefly considers following her to ensure her safety.

And then she realizes the implication of that thought, and abandons it as fast as she can.

Her mouth filling with the foul taste of bile, Chaeyoung makes her way out of the gym. 

She guesses she’ll need that 183K MiChaeng monster, after all.

⭒🌹⭒

Chaeyoung pushes open the bathroom door in defeat, having entered several other bathrooms to interrupt busy couples. This one, however, seems to empty, to Chaeyoung’s overwhelming relief. 

“Mm, Seulgi, yes-”

_Never mind._

Sighing, Chaeyoung turns around in disgust, seriously considering entering a male bathroom - how bad can it be, really? - and pauses in front of said bathroom.

Seriously, how did she get herself into this situation? And where the everloving _fuck_ is Chanyeol?

Mentally conditioning herself - and pinching her nose in distaste - Chaeyoung opens the door, fully prepared to pass it off as an accident. Thankfully, there seems to be no one inside, and Chaeyoung ducks in a stall, pulling up her MiChaeng fic in relief.

It’s quiet in the bathroom for a little while - Chaeyoung is glad; MiChaeng’s relationship is developing nicely - and Chaeyoung begins to let her guard slip. Of course, she knows that Chanyeol should be texting her in a panic any minute now - the restaurant food was decent enough not to cause this kind of indigestion - and while Jennie is certainly _busy,_ she wouldn’t just leave Chaeyoung by herself.

Stop overthinking it, she chides herself. If things are going well, why jinx it?

But, unfortunately, as is Chaeyoung's shitty luck, a couple comes crashing through the door the very next minute, their breathing ragged and stilted, almost obscenely so.

Chaeyoung curses internally, drawing her knees up so that they won’t be seen. It’s no simple task - the tulle of her dress is all bunched up and dangerously close to touching the toilet water, and there’s the issue of getting her phone into her purse without dropping it, letting her dress touch whatever the hell is in that toilet water, _or_ losing her delicate balance atop the toilet seat.

Plus, Chaeyoung can’t forget to block out whatever the hell the people outside are doing.

She successfully manages to stuff her phone into her purse - it’s nerve-wracking, and she nearly falls twice - and repositions herself, lifting her skirt up higher and tucking her purse between her knees.

Perhaps it’s then, once she’s safely situated herself, that Chaeyoung actually hears what’s going on outside over her panicked heartbeat.

“You can’t do this to me,” a familiar voice exclaims indignantly. “I’m here with a date, you know. I can’t just let her down-”

“Can’t you just break it off?” the other voice pleads. “Text her or something?”

“Baek, I can’t do that to her,” the voice pleads. “I’m not that kind of person.”

“I know.” Baek sighs in defeat. “But you don’t have feelings for her, do you?”

The first person heaves a sigh. “No, of course not. We only went out at my friend’s prompting - apparently he thought we’d make a good match or something? - and we already had a history, so…”

“You’re afraid of breaking her heart.” Baek says flatly.

“You know I have feelings for you, I always have,” the first person implores. “But I refuse to break her heart over text.”

“I get it.” Baek’s voice is tinged with melancholy. “I’ll wait for you, however long it takes.”

“Baek, please,” the former’s voice is strangled, choked up. “ _Please.”_

“My Yoda,” Baek whispers. "I'm sorry."

Chaeyoung starts, her eyes widening in shock, because the first Yoda-related person that comes to her mind is-

“I’m so sorry, Chanyeol,” Baek - probably Byun Baekhyun, a prominent member of their school's GSA - murmurs sadly. “It’s okay, just tell me when you’re ready.”

What the _fuck?_

Chaeyoung is at a loss.

Park Chanyeol - the very same Park Chanyeol who made out with Bae Joohyun back in freshman year - likes _Byun Baekhyun?_

And moreover, he’s trying to escape his date?

Wait.

_Chaeyoung_ is his date.

_Shit._

“Baek, please don’t leave.”

Chaeyoung is jerked out of her shock-induced reverie as she hears Chanyeol beseeching Baekhyun.

Silence ensues, broken only by the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing. Chanyeol utters a string of curse words, followed by the resounding bang of the bathroom door slamming closed again.

Chaeyoung emerges a good five minutes later, straightening her ruffled skirt, and walks straight forward, ignoring the burning in her eyes.

Eerily reminiscent of her freshman year, Chaeyoung walks home alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Did I break the fifth wall and reference one of my former fics? Absolutely
> 
> Am I ashamed of myself?? Lmfao nope, although I prolly should be
> 
> Anyways, thank you so much for reading this chapter, and catch up with me on my [tumblr](https://faexsolis.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/faexsolis) for chapter updates!!!


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